We got a surprising visitor in Salem and I must say, it was a nice and subtle highlight to end the 4th of July weekend on! The visitor was a Lockheed Martin HC-130J Hercules operated by the United States Coast Guard; having never seen a Herc operated by the Coast Guard before, I just knew I had to chase this plane down and get a few photos!
Salem (SLE) 51
Preview:
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| United States Coast Guard Lockheed Martin HC-130J (L-382) Hercules (2005) parked on the ramp. Aircraft currently assigned to CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Arrived early this morning from St. Louis. |
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| The Coast Guard's fleet of HC-130Js are derivatives of the KC-130J tankers used by the United States Marine Corps, itself a variant of the C-130J Super Hercules, newer than the legacy Hercules. The Coast Guard is currently in the process of replacing their legacy HC-130H Hercules with the new J-models; some of their old legacy Hercules have already been transferred over to the U.S. Forest Service for aerial firefighting roles. |
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| My first time seeing a Coast Guard-operated Hercules and only my second time seeing a J-model! The Coast Guard Air Station that this Herc is based out of, CGAS Elizabeth City, is one of the busiest in the U.S. Coast Guard bases in the country, operating missions as far away as Greenland, the Azores and the Caribbean. 2005 is currently one of five HC-130Js stationed there. |
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| Cessna 551 Citation II/SP (N551GE) parked on the ramp. Scheduled to depart Salem for Van Nuys tomorrow morning. |
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